E-Commerce ALERTS - Archive 2000

SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL VISITORS:
Effective December 31, 2012, articles are no longer being updated on this web site.
The site is now maintained as an historical archive, covering articles from the period 1999 to 2012.

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ONLINE SALES RETURNS LIMITED BY DIFFICULTY IN RETURN PROCESS

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that few shoppers actually return items purchased from online sites and those that do are not so dissatisfied with the return process that it adversely affects future shopping behavior with that specific retailer — MORE

REPORT SEES NEW LOOK FOR E-COMMERCE

The Internet landscape will soon be populated by more women than ever before, but will be littered with even more dot-com casualties, according to a new report from the Yankee Group — MORE

MILLIONS OF CREDIT CARDS HACKED

As many as 3.6 million credit cards belonging to people across North America could be at risk today after a hacker cracked a California-based retailer's Web site in what is being called one of the worst security breaches in the history of the Internet — MORE

E-TAILERS DISCLOSE FEARS OF E-PRIVACY LAW

Canada's new privacy legislation, set to go into effect the early part of January, 2001, has a number of e-tailers worried about compliance and disclosure issues. A recent study of Canadian Web sites indicates most online businesses are not nearly ready for the legislation — MORE

PUNDITS: WIRELESS WEB IS MAJOR PRIVACY THREAT

Most experts acknowledge that it will be difficult to make emerging wireless technologies work together, but it could be even harder to protect the privacy of consumers who use them — MORE

EARTHLINK INC. WANTS ITS PRIVACY

The No. 2 ISP named Les Seagraves its first chief privacy officer on Wednesday — MORE

EUROS RELUCTANT TO DIVULGE ONLINE

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 75 percent of wired European shoppers are not comfortable with supplying their credit card information online — MORE

WEB PRIVACY PROGRAMS ARE SCRUTINIZED

Lately, privacy-certification programs, including Truste, BBBOnLine and WebTrust, are coming under scrutiny for failing to attract enough participants, not imposing strict enough privacy standards and not cracking down when companies that have been awarded privacy seals break the rules — MORE

CANADIAN WEB SITES WOEFUL IN PRIVACY: SURVEY

Half of Canadian commercial Web sites do not have a privacy policy, and most that do exist are woefully inadequate, a survey has found — MORE

ONLINE PRIVACY IN JAPAN

According to the Center for Social and Legal Research, 90 percent of Japanese consumers have recently read or heard about privacy issues in Japan and 67 percent are concerned about the threats to their privacy — MORE

HOW E-TAILERS MEASURE UP

Three big-name retailers launched on-line shopping sites over the past month, cautiously venturing into e-commerce well after others had made the move -- and still others had stumbled — MORE

THE INTERNET'S ZEN PIRATES

They are the teenaged students of Russia's first school of computer hacking. And while their skills and bravado might seem dangerous, they say they are the good guys, defending their clients from an international war of viruses, hack attacks and computer crime — MORE

BUSINESSES LOOK TO ALLAY ONLINE SHOPPING FEARS

Companies ranging from online portals to credit card giants are trying this holiday season to calm people's fears about online privacy and fraud, two thorns in e-commerce's side — MORE

PRIVACY OFFICERS' GAINING PROMINENCE

No one had heard of a "chief privacy officer" as recently as two years ago. Now there are about 75 in the USA, according to James Grady, an analyst at Giga Information Group — MORE

FBI WARNS OF POSSIBLE NEW CYBER ATTACKS

Companies doing business on the Internet should tighten their defences against a possible new wave of cyber attacks, an FBI-led group aimed at protecting vital systems said on Friday — MORE

IBM NAMES FIRST PRIVACY CHIEF

International Business Machines Corp. Wednesday named Harriet Pearson as its first chief privacy officer in a bid to strengthen the company's role in consumer privacy protection — MORE

INTERNET PRIVACY THE ISSUE OF THE NEXT DECADE

When the Royal Bank of Canada announced in September that it had appointed a corporate privacy officer to protect the personal information of its clients, it was one of those press releases I was reluctant to chuck out — more

FTC WARNS ONLINE RETAILERS TO KEEP HOLIDAY SHIPPING PROMISES

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning more than 100 online retailers that they'd better not make holiday shipping promises they can't keep — MORE

U.S. ARMY KICK-STARTS CYBERWAR MACHINE

The U.S. military has a new mission: Be ready to launch a cyberattack against potential adversaries, some of whom are stockpiling cyberweapons — MORE

U.S. LIKELY TO BRING IN PRIVACY LAW

The United States will likely introduce new privacy legislation next year that will give consumers new legal rights to protect personal information and put new responsibilities on businesses that wish to use that information in the marketplace — MORE

SITES MUST 'SCREAM' SECURITY AND PRIVACY

Experts caution that e-tailers could fail to attract shoppers if they neglect to allay strong consumer concerns about the security and privacy of their on-line transactions — MORE

REPORT: CANADIAN E-COMMERCE GAINING GROUND

While Canadian e-commerce still has a long road to travel before catching up with the U.S., a study by the Canadian e-Business Opportunities Roundtable shows that the divide is steadily closing — MORE

GLITCH EXPOSES SOME BUY.COM CUSTOMER DATA

Online retailer Buy.com Inc. and United Parcel Service of America Inc. claim that a glitch in a new product-returns system used by Buy.com's Web site exposed the names, addresses and telephone numbers of some of its customers to other Internet users in October — MORE

CONSUMER REPORTS CALLS FOR PRIVACY AUDITS

In the November issue, Consumer Reports calls for privacy audits to protect citizens' personally identifiable information — MORE

CANADA LAGS U.S. IN ONLINE ADS

Whoever said that potential is a fancy word for "ain't done nothin' yet," might have been thinking about the Canadian Internet advertising industry. Much of the hype has more to do with its possibilities than actual accomplishments — MORE

DATA PRIVACY FEARS HAUNT INTERNET, US STUDY SHOWS

Almost two-thirds of U.S. Internet users and three-quarters of non-users say they fear that going online endangers their privacy, the U.S. component of a world survey released October 25 found — MORE

INDUSTRY REACTION TO MICROSOFT HACK: IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE

The breach of Microsoft Corp.'s network and subsequent access to its source code represent to many the failure of that vendor's product design, the failure of enterprises to implement best practices and the failure to understand security as a risk-management proposition — MORE

FEDS WARN CONSUMERS ABOUT INTERNET SCAMS

Reminding consumers that they should always be on guard when online, federal regulators announced Tuesday an education and law enforcement push against the top Internet scams — MORE

BUG-PROOFING YOUR E-COMMERCE SYSTEM

If you don't think that Internet security breaches present a threat to your firm, then you might be interested in the results of a recent survey. Nearly 75 percent of companies in the 2000 Computer Crime and Security Survey reported financial losses from security breaches within the last year — MORE

THE DEATH OF GEEK-RULE?

The Web is no longer being dominated by stereotypical over-educated Internet geeks, according to a new industry research report that says the online world is undergoing a significant demographic shift — MORE

PRIVACY IS UNDER SIEGE AT WORK, AT HOME AND ONLINE

Celebrities have long complained about having no privacy; now it's a problem for everyone. Since the beginning of the year, threats to the personal sphere have been expanding, leading some to call privacy "the civil rights issue of the 21st century." — MORE

STUDY: "NEWBIES" KEY TO U.S. E-HOLIDAY SALES

Due in part to an influx of new e-shoppers, nearly 45 million Americans will do some of their shopping online this holiday season, according to a study released Tuesday by eMarketer — MORE

RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE MARKET SET TO SOAR

Russian e-commerce revenue is set to increase ninefold in the coming year, according to a new study from International Data Corp. — MORE

ACCOUNTING COMPANIES TACKLE ONLINE PRIVACY CONCERNS

Online privacy policies are becoming so important that dot-coms are increasingly turning to old-economy consultancies for high-priced evaluations of their policies — MORE

MISSOURI FILES PRIVACY SUIT AGAINST NET MERCHANT

The state of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against Internet merchant More.com, accusing the site of giving personal information about consumers to third parties after promising it would not do so — MORE

STUDY RANKS CANADIAN E-TAILERS

A new study from Deloitte & Touche for the Retail Council of Canada ranks Canadians' top picks for online purchases and their Web site satisfaction — MORE

U.S. CONGRESS WON'T TAKE UP WEB PRIVACY UNTIL 2001

With a stack of pending privacy bills before it and industry warming up to the idea of new privacy laws, Congress in just over a week will likely wind down its current session without passing legislation on the controversial Internet privacy issue — MORE

U.S. FIRM TAKES SURVEILLANCE ON INTERNET TO NEW HEIGHTS

Mr. Hosea's Massachusetts-based start-up company has developed software that builds digital ''silhouettes,'' or profiles, of Internet users, after tracking their clicks across the Web — MORE

BATHE YOUR SITE IN SEALS OF PRIVACY ASSURANCE

With visible seals from a third party certification scheme that attests to your Web site's security and privacy practices, consumers can better trust that their personal and transactional information will be kept private, secure, and confidential. In this week's column you'll learn where you can find the information to participate in these programs — MORE

PARSING THE 90/20 RULE OF E-COMMERCE

New research on the e-commerce industry finds that the top 20 percent of online shoppers who spent at least $1,000 per year online account for about 87 percent of the total consumer online sales market — MORE

MOST U.S. ADULTS WITHOUT WEB ACCESS DON'T WANT IT

The Pew Internet & American Life Project, a Washington-based research organization that monitors the impact of the Internet on society, recently released survey results that it said show half of the adults in the U.S. don't have Internet access and 57 percent of those non-users have no interest in going online — MORE

SPEECH WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY

Publius is indeed an impressive technical achievement: a tiny little program that, once widely installed, allows almost any computer user to publish a document on the Web in such a way that for all practical purposes it cannot be altered or removed without the author's consent, even by an incensed government. In fact, authors can post files to Publius that even they themselves cannot delete — MORE

REPORT CHARGES U.S. LEADS WORLDWIDE SNOOPING DRIVE

The United States has led a worldwide drive to build the groundwork for expanded snooping in the digital era, two civil rights groups alleged in a new survey — MORE

CANADIAN BOOTCAMP FOR INTERNET STARTUPS

With a uniquely Canadian focus, the Canadian Bootcamp for Internet Startups will bring together a panel of experts speaking on crucial topics such as business strategy & planning, financing, and marketing communications — MORE

PRIVACY WOES SCARING OFF E-SHOPPERS

With 61 percent of no-shows in the Internet check-out line citing privacy concerns and advocates making a stand, e-retailers' privacy practices are coming under fire -- again — MORE

SENIORS RAPIDLY ADOPTING INTERNET

New research shows that those older than 55 now constitute the fastest-growing group of American Internet users. More than 12 million elders are hooked to the Internet, a 106 percent increase over last year — MORE

US CONGRESS URGED TO GUARD ONLINE CONSUMER PRIVACY

The US Congress must set minimum guidelines to protect consumers' privacy on the Internet, two key US legislators said yesterday, while acknowledging that industry has made substantial progress to guard personal data — MORE

CRACKERS COMPROMISE WESTERN UNION

A momentary security lapse opened one of the nation's most revered financial service companies to a cyberattack last week that compromised several thousand credit card accounts and tarnished its reputation in the market — MORE

WESTERN UNION WEB SITE HACKED

Western Union warned thousands of online customers Saturday that hackers had broken into the money transferring company's Web site — MORE

WEB SITE EXPOSES IKEA BUYERS

The names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of 144,229 North Americans sat exposed on the company's Web site earlier this week — MORE

A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF E-COMMERCE AND BUSINESS USE OF THE INTERNET IN CANADA

Canada leads the way with consumer penetration of the Internet. However, it lags behind the U.S. for business penetration of the Internet according to a survey released on June 19, 2000 by The Boston Consulting Group and Retail Council of Canada — MORE

SANTA, BE GOOD TO ME

Global online sales for the upcoming holiday season, spurred by "explosive" growth in Net access, are predicted to reach $19.5 billion in 2000, says a new industry report — MORE

ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF WEBTRUST PRIVACY PROGRAM TO HELP WEB SITES COMPLY WITH GLOBAL ONLINE PRIVACY LAWS

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the world's leading accounting firms announced the WebTrust Program for On-Line Privacy - a comprehensive e-business privacy tool that protects consumers and e-commerce users by enabling on-line businesses to continuously comply with, and verify adherence to, all key international privacy laws, regulations and standards — MORE

MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENTS, AMONG OTHERS, CAN BE "BUGGED"

Readers of email document attachments beware: the author of a computer file may be able to track the path of the file to your computer and others through the use of "Web bugs," the Privacy Foundation reported — MORE

INTERNET BECOMING LESS "U.S.-CENTRIC"

Overseas use is transforming the Internet from a U.S.-dominated medium to a true international communications backbone, a U.S. group tracking the online world said Friday — MORE

TRUSTe BREAKS PRIVACY RULE

Non-profit Internet privacy organization TRUSTe allowed an outside company to track visitors to its Web site without visitors' permission or knowledge, said Interhack, a Internet security firm — MORE

INTERNET SURVEY DETAILS PRIVACY

In the virtual online world, even a "cookie" has the power to invade your privacy. And the majority of Internet users don't even know it is happening to them, according to a survey released yesterday — MORE

SURVEY: MOST IN U.S. WANT COMPANIES TO GUARANTEE ONLINE PRIVACY

The majority of U.S. Internet users feel their rights are infringed upon by companies that track them online, and 86 percent prefer an "opt in" policy that would require Web sites to seek permission from users before they disclose personal information, a new survey states — MORE

PROTECT YOUR PRIVATE PARTS

According to a recent study, while 53 per cent of Canadian medium- and large-sized companies surveyed called network, data and Internet security a "very important" priority, a whopping 41 per cent deemed it only "somewhat important — MORE

NEWS BRIEFS - QuickE-ALERTS

Chilly eCommerce in Canada -- US mCommerce Plays Catch-Up -- Search Engines Better than Banner Ads — MORE

PAUSE IN GROWTH OF ONLINE BUYING

After a significant gain during the last half of 1999, the influx of new online shoppers has slowed within the last six months. Twenty-seven percent of Americans now say they've bought something over the Internet, unchanged since January — MORE

OF B2B PROPORTIONS: STREAMLINING AND AUTOMATING

In the last week or so, I've read several reports that come to the same conclusion that I came to two months ago: eMarketplaces aren't the place to be, B2B will ultimately be about automating existing relationships between businesses — MORE

NET STILL WIDE OPEN TO SMURFING

This week marks the six-month anniversary of February's denial of service attacks that paralyzed several high-profile Internet sites. While many system administrators have since beefed up their defenses to prevent such packet floods, a new survey reveals there are still tens of thousands of networks wide open — MORE

GIRLS ONLINE TIP THE NET BALANCE

A study released by Media Metrix and Jupiter Communications in the United States found that in May, for the first time in the internet's short history, women represented more than 50 per cent of the online population — MORE

TOP 10 WAYS TO PROTECT ONLINE PRIVACY

Representing Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, the United States and Wales, the group recommends the following ten ways in which Internet users can protect their personal privacy — MORE

MAKE WEB SURFERS STICK TO YOUR SITE LIKE GLUE

Web marketers today are increasingly talking about making their sites "stickier." What does that mean? — MORE

DEFUNCT WEB SITE LEAKS CREDIT CARD INFO

At the time of this writing, Monday July 31st, all customer orders of a U.S.-based electronic commerce site, with pornography as the best-selling item, were openly available online without any protection — MORE

U.S. INTERNET PRIVACY BILL INTRODUCED

John McCain, the Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, and Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts introduced an online privacy bill that would require Web sites to alert consumers when personal data is being collected — MORE

FTC AND CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCE SUPPORT FOR INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION PRINCIPLES

The Federal Trade Commission and the Clinton Administration announced their overwhelming support for the Network Advertising Initiative's Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Preference Marketing — MORE

FTC BACKS INTERNET PRIVACY DEAL (ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE)

Hoping to ease public concerns about online privacy, the government on Thursday approved a plan drafted by Internet advertisers to regulate the gathering of information used to profile Web customers — MORE

DOES ISSUING PASSPORTS MAKE MICROSOFT A COUNTRY?

The scariest thing is that Microsoft is advertising Passport as if it were a benefit to consumers, and people seem to be falling for it! By the time you've read this article, I can guarantee that I'll scare you into turning off your Hotmail account and staying away from MSN web sites — MORE

PRIVACY SUIT TARGETS NETSCAPE

New Jersey-based website operator has filed a class action lawsuit charging that AOL/Netscape's Internet software violates electronic privacy law — MORE

FTC-TOYSMART SETTLEMENT ESCALATES PRIVACY DEBATE

Industry reaction to the Toysmart settlement is as mixed as the FTC's conclusion, a 3-2 vote delivered last week that is certain to incite further debate over privacy policies and acceptable terms for selling consumer data to third parties — MORE

TRUST IN THE AMERICAS STUDY PROVIDES INSIGHTS INTO ONLINE PRIVACY AND E-COMMERCE IN THE US AND LATIN AMERICA

This study is unique in that it highlights the cultural similarities and differences in Internet attitudes and behaviors between the US, Spanish-speaking Latin America, and Brazil — MORE

PRIVACY ADVOCATES FIGHT FBI'S E-MAIL SNOOPING SYSTEM

Civil liberties and privacy groups are attacking a new system allowing law enforcement agents to intercept and analyze huge amounts of e-mail — MORE

COMPANIES ADDING PRIVACY OFFICERS

With consumers increasingly concerned about their privacy and new technology able to track Internet users click by click, companies are rapidly hiring privacy officers and giving them broad powers to set policies that protect consumers from invasion and companies from public relations nightmares — MORE

NEW WATCHDOG HAS EYES ON THE INTERNET

Public advocacy organizations concerned about how the Internet is managed have launched a program to boost public participation — MORE

IS REDRESS POSSIBLE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT?

Industry watchers, governments, consumer advocates and leading IT companies concur that online dispute resolution is the answer to where and how online transaction problems can be solved — MORE

STUDENTS SEE RISK IN ONLINE COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

High school students are increasingly turning to the Internet to investigate their college options, but fears about transmitting personal information may be keeping a computer-savvy generation of students from applying to college online — MORE

WEB BUGS - ILLEGALLY TRACKING YOUR EVERY MOVE

The state of Michigan charged four Web sites in June of not disclosing in their privacy policies the practice of profiling using "Web bugs" — MORE

ANTI-PRIVACY BRIEF TO BE FILED AGAINST TOYSMART

The nonprofit organization TRUSTe announced Friday it is planning to file a brief in bankruptcy court that will decide whether Toysmart.com can sell its customer lists — MORE

WHITE HOUSE ADMITS PRIVACY BREACH

The White House acknowledged that its own anti-drug office's Web site may have been collecting personal data about visitors in violation of federal policy — MORE

US B2B MARKETS PREDICTED TO REACH $6 TRILLION IN 2005

Online B2B transactions are expected to reach more than $6 trillion by 2005, representing 42 percent of total business-to-business non-service spending in the United States, says a new industry study — MORE

AMERICANS RULE THE WEB - FOR NOW

Say "hello" to a World Wide Web that is truly that. From content to culture, the Internet - born of American government need - is rapidly losing its U.S. flavor as more computer users connect from abroad — MORE

RENO: BAND TOGETHER AGAINST CYBERCRIME

US Attorney General Janet Reno said Monday that she will direct U.S. attorneys throughout the country to establish contacts with industry in their communities to help law enforcement combat cybercrime — MORE

WEB TOOLS DESIGNED TO HELP INTERNET USERS MAINTAIN PRIVACY

Microsoft and other companies unveiled tools designed to give Internet users more control over how much personal information they divulge. The products were introduced amid growing concern about Web sites that secretly track people's online habits and supply the information to marketers — MORE

JAPAN ANTICIPATES BIG BOOM IN B2B

Japan's Internet business market is likely to boom over the next few years, according to government forecasts released Tuesday — MORE

POLL: CYBERCRIME CONCERNS AMERICANS

More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the threat of hackers and cybercriminals, says a poll released Monday at a conference of technology executives and law enforcement officials — MORE

ONLINE MONITORING GOES BEYOND ANONYMOUS POSTINGS

Anonymous online attacks can cause considerable damage to a company's reputation and bottom line but companies have had little recourse to protect themselves and their shareholders. A new service available through PR Newswire changes the playing field — MORE

120 CHARGED IN MOB FRAUD CRACKDOWN

More than 100 reputed mobsters, stock promoters and executives of Internet start-ups were accused of strong-arming brokers and manipulating penny stocks in the country's largest crackdown yet on securities fraud — MORE

SEC TO START ONLINE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM

Stepping up its fight against securities fraud on the Internet, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April announced plans to launch an automated online surveillance system to search web sites, message boards, and chat rooms for online fraud — MORE

SURGE IN EUROPEAN B2B MARKETPLACES PREDICTED

A new forecast says that by 2005, e-marketplaces will claim 6 percent of all B2B trade in the European Union as up to 1,000 online markets emerge to facilitate Internet business transactions — MORE

FUTURE SHOP LATEST VICTIM OF NET HACKERS

An e-mail hoax warning that Future Shop Ltd.'s entire credit card database had been broken open created panic yesterday among customers and widespread confusion in Canada's banking industry — MORE

CANADIANS COOL TO INTERNET SHOPPING

It appears shopping online isn't as popular as many companies think. A study released Friday suggests most Canadians don't trust corporate web sites when buying products — MORE

FBI WEB SITE FOR VOICING INTERNET FRAUD COMPLAINTS

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) has been created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with the US Department of Justice and US National White Collar Crime Center — MORE

DOMAIN NAMES HIJACKED IN BRAZEN NEW NET SCAM

At least two Internet-based companies - one in Toronto, the other in Hong Kong - have had their Web names "stolen" in what may be an international computer domain name laundering scam — MORE

CANADA PLEDGES TO DELETE "BIG BROTHER" FILES

The Canadian government, responding to a public outcry that it was acting like Big Brother, said it was dismantling a vast database containing up to 2,000 pieces of information on each citizen — MORE

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT HAS PROFILES OF 30 MILLION CITIZENS

The 1999-2000 Annual Report tabled by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada warns that efforts to assemble personal data from several federal agencies have resulted in the creation of profiles on more than 30 million Canadians — MORE

COMPUTER FRAUD SAID TO COST BILLIONS

Computer fraud by employees could prove to be the "greatest threat" yet to Canadian companies, which are already losing $20 billion to $40 billion a year to in-house fraud, a new report by consulting firm Ernst & Young says — MORE

FTC GIVES UP ON NET SELF-REGULATION

Finding Internet privacy to be sorely lacking, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission released a 200-page report recommending to Congress that new legislation be adopted to protect consumers' privacy online — MORE

SMALL FIRMS TAKING OFF AS BIG SPENDERS ON THE NET

Last year, small firms spent $25 billion for goods and services over the Internet. For the first time, business-to-business spending topped online consumer spending -- by a whopping $5 billion — MORE

G-8 DISCUSSES WAYS TO COMBAT CYBER CRIME

For three days over 300 representatives of Governments, law enforcement agents, producers of information technology (both hardware and software) and consumers from the world's leading industrialised nations are in Paris discussing ways and means of reducing or controlling Internet fraud and other criminal acts in cyberspace — MORE

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTERNET SECURITY ADDRESSED

A Toronto-based company has recognized that security will likely remain the primary reason why Canadian companies are reluctant to take advantage of savings and efficiencies achievable by adopting E-Commerce technologies — MORE

FTC FINDS E-COMMERCE SITES FAIL TO GUARD CONSUMER PRIVACY

A survey of major e-commerce Web sites by the Federal Trade Commission found that only about 20 percent met US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) standards for protecting consumer privacy — MORE

PRIVACY 2000: IN WEB WE TRUST? - Part 2

(continuation of the previous article, below) — MORE

PRIVACY 2000: IN WEB WE TRUST? - Part 1

In the real world, nobody knows what TV commercials you watch or which sitcoms you surf. When you go strolling through the mall, no one's making note of the stores you visit or the clothes you try on. But on the Internet, Web sites are doing all of this and more. And that makes some people mad as hell — MORE

IS THERE HOPE FOR NET PRIVACY?

Everyone talks about consumer privacy issues on the Internet, but much of the conversation is in the abstract. Few are making the time or spending the resources on a reality check — MORE

DE BEERS SECURITY HOLE REVEALS CUSTOMER INFORMATION

About 35,000 customer email and home addresses were exposed on Adiamondisforever.com, an informational site about diamonds sponsored by De Beers, CNET News.com has learned — MORE

VIRUSES, NOT HACKERS ARE ENEMY NUMBER ONE

Most companies believe viruses, not hacking, is the biggest threat to their networks. The figures were part of a preliminary analysis of a recent survey of 200 large and medium companies across the country. — MORE

BEEF UP E-PATROLS OF WILD, WILD WEB

Is anyone else proud that "mafia-boy" is a Canadian? After all in a country where brains drain south, Canada can now boast that it has the world's biggest alleged E-criminal — MORE

CRIMINALS HOT ON CYBERSPACE MONEY TRAIL

A survey of systems professionals shows 70% report being victimized by serious computer crimes, especially on the Internet. When equipment theft, viruses and other pilfering are factored in, the figure rises to 90%, according to the fifth annual survey by the FBI and the Computer Security Institute — MORE

FIRST AMERICAN ONLINE PRIVACY LAW TAKES EFFECT

The U.S. government will start surfing the Web to enforce the first federal statute on online privacy - a new law that imposes thousands of dollars in fines on marketers who collect personal information from children under 13 — MORE

AN ASTONISHING SECURITY BREACH

There it sat on my Web browser. A list of 1000 credit card numbers. And the name of the owner, where he or she lived, and their phone number — MORE

CANADIAN BOOTCAMP FOR INTERNET STARTUPS - Toronto, May 17 -18, 2000

With a uniquely Canadian focus, the Canadian Bootcamp for Internet Startups will bring together a panel of experts speaking on crucial topics such as business strategy & planning, financing, and marketing communications — MORE

THE BUSINESS LOGIC OF SITE ARCHITECTURE

How much does Wal-Mart.com's limitations - and the limitations of other legacy players online - stem from a mindset consciously or unconsciously fixed in the world of physical retailing? — MORE

CREDIT CARD FILES TURN UP ON NET

More than 1,000 confidential records - including credit card numbers - were accessible on the Internet for at least five days because of a security breach at one of Canada's largest service providers — MORE

DESPITE SOME SUCCESS, E-COMMERCE IN CANADA FACES PARTICULAR HURDLES

The success of companies like Chapters tells just part of the story. For when it comes to expanding the e-commerce frontier, Canadian businesses have been lagging behind their U.S. counterparts — MORE

EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT E-BUSINESS IS WRONG

Get ready to relearn everything you thought you knew about e-business. Over the next five years, global e-commerce will grow so quickly that the old rules for how to be successful online just won't apply — MORE

WEB EXEC ISSUES WARNING TO NET FIRMS

A top executive from a Montreal-based software maker said yesterday that firms like Nortel Networks, Nokia, Ericsson and other makers of Internet and wireless networking gear are failing to protect the privacy rights of consumers — MORE

ESTHER DYSON: PRIVACY IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET

The concept of privacy is changing radically as a result of our new computer-based lives. Privacy used to be achieved through the sheer "friction" of everyday life: distance, time and the lack of records. Information didn't travel well, and most people who wanted to escape their pasts could simply move to a new location — MORE

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUSTe AND YOUR PRIVACY

Millions put their faith (and their personal data) into sites that display the ever-present green TRUSTe logo. But just what does that "trustmark" guarantee? — MORE

9 OF 10 COMPANIES REPORT COMPUTER ATTACKS

More than 90 percent of large corporations and government agencies were the victims of computer security breaches in 1999, according to a new survey — MORE

INTERNATIONAL EFFORT FINDS MORE THAN 1,600 SCAM AND FRAUD SITES

The Federal Trade Commission said Friday that a worldwide sweep targeting phony get-rich-quick schemes on the Web turned up more than 1,600 scams — MORE

CANADA IS CYBERTERROR HOTBED

An American intelligence agency has determined that up to 80% of foreign attacks on U.S. computers either originate or pass through Canada, according to a report prepared last year for Canada's Department of National Defence — MORE

COMPUTER BREAK-INS EXPOSE CREDIT CARD RISKS

Stung by a string of credit card thefts online, card companies are trying to teach merchants better security. Not doing so, they fear, could cause an erosion in consumer confidence, impeding e-commerce and the use of cards online — MORE

SCATHING CANADIAN ONLINE ADVERTISING REPORT

The Internet Advertising Bureau Of Canada (IAB Canada) released its report this week on the state of the online advertising industry in the country. The report discloses that, although the online share of advertising revenues is growing, Canadian online advertising expenditures are still lagging behind U.S. expenditures by a 60:1 ratio — MORE

VAST ONLINE CREDIT CARD THEFT REVEALED

In the largest known case of cybertheft, a computer intruder stole information on more than 485,000 credit cards from an e-commerce site and then secretly stored the massive database on a U.S. government agency's Web site — MORE

CAUTION URGED DOING TAXES ONLINE

People entering the brave new Internet world with their most personal financial information should take care to ensure the sites respect the privacy of taxpayer information and can transmit returns securely, experts warn — MORE

IDENTITY THEFT THRIVES IN CYBERSPACE NAMES, NUMBERS EASY TO FIND ONLINE, AUTHORITIES SAY

The information superhighway has become an express lane for identity theft, according to US federal law enforcement agents — MORE

MORE FOR LESS; ONLINE SHOPPERS WANT IT ALL

A recent survey indicates that while low prices lure online shoppers, e-retailers must differentiate themselves beyond price to keep them coming back — MORE

INTERNET POLL REVEALS PRIVACY AS MOST IMPORTANT INTERNET ISSUE AMONG ONLINE USERS

Results from the latest @plan Internet Poll(TM) reveal that online privacy concerns are by far and away the single most important issue confronting the industry — MORE

SPRINT'S WIRELESS WEB SERVICE DISCLOSES USERS' PHONE NUMBERS

Sprint PCS is the latest company to enter the Internet's "Consumer Privacy Hall of Shame", joining such illustrious past winners as DoubleClick and Intel — MORE

10 RULES FOR PERMISSION-BASED E-MAIL MARKETING

Marketers everywhere are embracing opt-in e-mail marketing. Though similar in many ways to traditional direct marketing, opt-in e-mail operates under very different rules — MORE

WHITE HOUSE SEES THE NEED FOR PRIVACY LEGISLATION

President Clinton used a visit to Silicon Valley Friday to suggest that his administration's hands-off approach to the Internet may not extend as far as online privacy — MORE

TIPS TO PROTECT ONLINE PRIVACY AND SECURITY WHILE BUILDING CONSUMER TRUST

In response to growing concerns from online shoppers about security and privacy protection, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) offers several tips to Web merchants to help them build consumer trust and confidence — MORE

COMPANIES SEEK SECURITY EXPERTS TO DEFEND WEB SITES

One month after hacker attacks shut down Web sites, including Yahoo and eBay, much of the Net world is quietly boosting its defenses — MORE

E-COMMERCE SITE BREACHED BY CREDIT CARD THIEVES

Computer hackers have struck again, prompting an e-commerce site to notify customers that some of their credit card numbers had been stolen and posted on the Web — MORE

POLL: NET PRIVACY FEARS INCREASE

A majority of users say the Internet has made their lives better, but almost half are worried that their privacy and security might be compromised online, according to a Gallup Poll study — MORE

NEW YORK TIMES WEB EDITORIAL: PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET

As the Internet matures, preserving user privacy and anonymity is becoming a significant problem. Technology now makes it possible for online businesses and advertisers to turn the Internet into a realm where activities and habits are monitored and recorded, largely without consumer knowledge or consent — MORE

ONLINE RETAILERS NEED MORE THAN TECHNOLOGY

A recent study by Canada-based researchers Bristol Group found that encouraging customers to go online can lead to a decline in customer loyalty, referrals to friends and, over the long term, a decline in profits — MORE

TIPS FOR PROTECTION FROM E-COMMERCE HACKERS

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is offering several tips to e-commerce sites to help protect them and their customers against disruptive actions — MORE

H&R BLOCK WEB SITE REVEALS TAX DATA

H&R Block has been forced to shut down its online tax-preparation Web site due to a mix-up that exposed the tax data of some consumers — MORE

REPORT RINGS ALARM BELLS ABOUT PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET

Government officials and privacy groups were surprised by last week's report from the California HealthCare Foundation that showed that health sites on the Web are not adequately protecting consumer privacy — MORE

FTC TO BEGIN ONLINE PRIVACY SWEEPS

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be sending a report to Congress this spring on consumer profiling — MORE

AMAZON.COM FACES PRIVACY INVASION LAWSUITS

Online retailing giant Amazon.com Inc. and its Alexa Internet software subsidiary face two privacy invasion lawsuits and an informal inquiry by the Federal Trade Commission. The suits allege that Alexa secretly intercepted electronic communications and other personal data with its computer software program and sent the information to third parties, including Amazon — MORE

BLOCKING SOFTWARE FIRMS TO RELEASE NEW PROGRAMS

Consumer privacy fears are turning into a marketing opportunity as more companies develop programs that prevent advertisers from culling personal information online — MORE

SECURITY GAPS FOUND IN MEDICAL WEB SITES

Internet health sites are collecting and sharing with other companies detailed personal information about visitors, often without their knowledge and despite promises to protect privacy — MORE

B2B E-COMMERCE: $403 BILLION IN 2000

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce will grow at aggressive rates through 2004, causing fundamental changes to the way businesses do business with each other, according to research conducted by Gartner Group, Inc. — MORE

LACK OF PRODUCT INFORMATION CHIEF CONCERN FOR E-SHOPPERS

Ninety-one percent of e-shoppers told Active Research that they were satisfied with their e-shopping experience, but cited "lack of product information," as the number one complaint of online shoppers — MORE

DOUBLECLICK SUED OVER PRIVACY

A Californian woman filed suit Thursday against DoubleClick Inc., accusing the Internet advertising company of unlawfully obtaining and selling consumers' private personal information — MORE

ONLINE SECURITY CONCERNS INHIBIT E-COMMERCE IN EUROPE

The study notes that a major factor inhibiting the growth of European e-commerce is lack of confidence in online security and using credit cards over the Web — MORE

INTERNET SECURITY A GROWING CONCERN

Businesses spent an estimated $6.4 billion worldwide on computer security last year, but some experts say that doesn't deter outside hackers and corporate insiders bent on stealing or doing harm — MORE

GRANDPARENTS GO ONLINE

An astonishing 25 million U.S. grandparents are logged on to the Internet. It's the fastest-growing group on the Internet - and the richest. They're already spending $6 billion a year online, and that's expected to grow to $15 billion in just three years — MORE

FOR WOMEN SHOPPERS ONLINE, SECURITY IS TOP CONCERN

Concerns regarding transaction security are the primary obstacle keeping women from shopping online, according to a recent study. In fact, security concerns appear to be stronger predictors of online purchasing than any other factor, including Internet experience — MORE

ADDITIONAL NEWS ARTICLES IN 1999 ARCHIVE

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